Senior Adam Brown returned from a pre-season injury to belt a home run in his first game back, and Cole Iles pitched a complete game as Republic knocked off Neosho 4-3 on the road Tuesday. The Tigers broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning when Devon Hughes drove in Drew Schroeder, and Iles made the run stand up by retiring six of the last seven batters.
Brown, who was injured in a pre-season scrimmage a few days before the start of the season, finally got into the lineup for the first time Tuesday, and he made the most of his opportunity. After grounding out his first time up, Brown ripped a line drive over the left field fence with Gunner Ellison on first base in the third inning, putting the Tigers on top 2-0.
“I was thinking about my grandpa. He couldn’t be here, but he told me, ‘Hey, you’re gonna hit one out this year,’ and I was thinking of him as I was rounding third,” Brown said. “And also, I told my dad last week, ‘How awesome would it be if I hit a home run my first game back?'” (Watch here.)
Republic added another run in the fourth inning when Schroeder doubled with one out and advanced to third on a single into shallow center field. Hughes singled home Schroeder to make the score 3-0.
Neosho got all three of its runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Wildcats had four base hits and took advantage of a Republic error to push three unearned runs across the plate, tying the game 3-3 before Republic took the lead for good in the top of the sixth.
Republic had only six base hits. Garrett Lester and Hughes had two hits each.
Iles pitched seven innings, allowing just six hits and three runs – one earned – to pick up the win in a strong and steady wind that made things difficult. Iles struck out four, didn’t walk a batter, and hit one batter.
“The wind was messing with a couple of my pitches, like I couldn’t get a couple of my curveballs over, so I tried to fill the zone as best I can,” Iles said. “If they hit it, they hit it, and hoping my defense, like they did, made plays.”
Austin Rodriguez, the Neosho starter, suffered the loss despite striking out eight.
Republic improves to 7-8. The Tigers will travel to Carl Junction Thursday.